India recovered from a sluggish start to beat Hong Kong in their Badminton Asia Team Championships 2024, men's opening tie in Shah Alam, Malaysia on Wednesday. ()
BWF World Championships bronze medallist suffered a straight sets (18-21, 14-21) defeat to Angus Ng Ka Long in the first rubber, but India won the next three to take an unassailable 3-1 lead.
Following Prannoy's rather tame defeat, the Asian Games men's doubles gold medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty thrashed Hong Kong pair of Lui Chun Wai and Yeung Shing C. 21-16, 21-11. Lakshya Sen then beat Yin Chak Chan 21-14, 21-9 to give India a 2-1 lead.
Doubles pair of MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila teamed up to beat Hin Long Chow and Kuei Chun Hung (21-12, 21-7) in the fourth rubber for a 3-1 lead. At the time of writing, was up against Jason Gunawan.
India, the bronze medal winners in the 2016 and 2018 editions, will face hosts China in their final Group A tie on Thursday. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the quarter-finals.
Earlier in the day, the Indian women's team stunned top seeds China 3-2 in their Group W match. Their quarter-final tie is scheduled for Friday.
The biennial event also serves as the Asian qualifiers for the 2024 Thomas and Uber Cup, to be held in Chengdu, China in April-May.
India squads
Men: HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, Chirag Sen, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, Dhruv Kapila, M R Arjun, Suraj Goala, Pruthvi Roy.
Women: PV Sindhu, Anmol Kharb, Tanvi Sharma, Ashmita Chaliha, Treesa Jolly, Gayatri Gopichand, Ashwini Ponnappa, Tanisha Crasto, Priya Konjengbam, Shruti Mishra.
